The present invention relates to a method for measuring the disturbance level of a base station environment, which base station comprises at least one receiver utilizing frequency hopping, and means for measuring the signal level of signals received by the receiver. The invention further relates to a cellular communication system comprising a mobile switching centre, a base station controller and base stations, whereby the system comprises a base station with at least one receiver utilizing frequency hopping, and means for measuring the levels of the signals received by the receiver.
The present invention relates to spectral analysis carried out in the base station environment, the object of the analysis being to detect and locate the factors disturbing the system. In a prior art solution for measuring the disturbance level in a base station environment of a cellular communication system, a separate spectrum analyzer is taken to the base station site whenever problems occur. The spectrum analyzer is then used for monitoring possible disturbances by measuring the signal levels of the received signals on all the frequency channels used by the base station. In cases where the disturbance that disturbs the operation of a base station is sporadic (a fast data link, for example), it has even been necessary to wait for its occurrence.
The solution described above for measuring the disturbance level is very slow and expensive, as it requires, in addition to a separate measuring device, active participation by the service personnel during the measurements, as well as for the handling and transportation of the spectrum analyzer.